Up Close and Personal: The 1913 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Austrian Alpine Trials Car

At first look, the car that was standing before me looked like any other car that sits in a museum, shiny, perfectly perched for the rest of its life. But this beautiful blue piece of history isn't letting its storied past stop it from continuing its journey in present day.

The Austrian Alpine Trials car was originally created for aviator James Radley (he built the body). He drove it in the 1913 trials, completing about 1,616 miles and rumbling over 19 mountain passes. After he was finished, he sold it, and it was passed around a couple owners. The car then resurfaced in 1950 and was fully restored in 1993, after it was passed on by Fred Watson, who drove it for about 35 years. After the restoration, it's since been on the road for more than 90,000 miles and was recently a star in the Centenary Alpine trials this past June. We hope it keeps kickin' for an other 100 years.